HUA HIN : Sweden's Johan Edfors believes the signs are encouraging after he yesterday won the par-three contest, a light-hearted precursor to the Asian Tour's season-ending US$1 million King's Cup Golf Hua Hin which tees off at Black Mountain Golf Club tomorrow.
Johan Edfors, left, is congratulated by Prom Meesawat after winning the par-three contest.
Modelled after a similar tradition at the Masters, Edfors received a timely confidence boost when he was victorious ahead of his title challenge at the King's Cup.
"It's definitely a great way to start the week by winning the par-three contest," Edfors said. "I hit some really nice shots out there despite the strong winds. It's a sign of good things to come. I had quite a long break so it's good to have the game back in shape.
"It's always nice to come back to play in Asia. I've a second home here at Black Mountain and I'm actually thinking of playing a lot more in Asia now."
The 38-year-old owns a villa that overlooks the 11th hole at Black Mountain.
The King's Cup tournament will feature more than 30 champions on the Asian Tour and Edfors, a three-time winner in Europe, knows it will not be a walk in the park as he seeks another victory at Black Mountain.
"The standards have gone up dramatically over the last couple of year," he said.
"There are so many young ones coming up and the old ones never seem to fade away either. The competition is getting tougher as there are so many good players over here now," added Edfors, who lifted his second Asian Tour title after a splendid wire-to-wire triumph at the Black Mountain Masters in 2009.
Thai teenager Jazz Janewattananond could be a contender at his home course this week. Jazz, who steals the limelight not only from the exploits on the course but also his loud and attention-grabbing apparel, produced impressive back-to-back top-10 finishes in the Philippines and Indonesia late last year.
Despite playing on his home course this week, Jazz feels there will be no real advantage as whoever can tame the gusty conditions will stand of good chance of lifting the King's Cup.
"The toughest part of playing at Black Mountain is playing against the strong wind. Everyone has a chance to win here. You dont really have a home advantage here because it is so windy here," said the 18-year-old, who inked his place in the history books as the youngest to make the cut at the 2010 Asian Tour International in Nakhon Pathom.